book shopping
Posted: Thu Apr 29, 2010 2:37 pm
I love buying books. (Arguably more than I love reading them, since I own MANY books I haven't managed to read yet.) Perhaps this is a curse, a skill, or a birthright, but I thought I'd at least share some of my more productive techniques for acquiring new volumes.
Around Town:
* The Library. Go to the library and check books out if you just want to read them. You can't keep them afterwards, but in most cases the specimens aren't in good condition anyway. Frustratingly, however, libraries often have copies of out-of-print hardbacks that I want to buy for my collection, but can't afford. Actually, libraries sometimes have a shelf or two of cheap donated books for sale - failing that, they tend to have interesting seasonal sales once or twice a year.
* Big New Bookstore. Go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble. I usually avoid doing this, because most of the books I want can be got for lower prices elsewhere, and some of the books I want can't be gotten at all in such places. However, for recently published mass-market paperbacks, buying new is often the best move, since they're not that expensive.
* Independent Book Bookstore. Visit your local new, used, rare, and/or out-of-print bookstore. Prices will be higher than at a rummage sale, because there are business costs associated with the operation of a bookstore, but obviously quality will be higher, inventory will be larger, and the bookstore is open year round, rather than once a year when the weather is nice, as in the case of rummage sales. Not sure where to go? Try browsing Evelyn C. Leeper's list of bookstores.
* Discount Bookstore. Discount bookstores sell 'remaindered' books. Remaindered books are new-ish books which just didn't sell enough copies at the retail price. The inventory is usually boring: Many copies of a few books. Prices are usually some fixed fraction of retail. Lately I've gotten slightly more fond of this kind of store than I used to be. Some discount bookstores, like Half-Price Books on Route 206, buy and sell used books, too. I really appreciate stores that sell used kids' paperbacks. Sometimes that's the kind of book I'm looking for. Not many stores keep used kids' paperbacks on the shelves: it can't be a terribly lucrative strategy.
* Go on a Treasure Hunt. For an adventure, when the weather is nice, check out yard sales, garage sales, and fund-raisers. If you want 25- or 50-cent paperbacks, that's where to look. These people don't WANT the books. (Sometimes with good reason, admittedly.) The fun is in the search, the discovery, and the very low cost. And now, you can be aided by the web. Here's a site that lists rummage and library sales across the country: Book Sale Finder. Here's another, which I can't personally recommend since I haven't used it (I became aware of it after leaving the states): Book Sale Manager
Around Town:
* The Library. Go to the library and check books out if you just want to read them. You can't keep them afterwards, but in most cases the specimens aren't in good condition anyway. Frustratingly, however, libraries often have copies of out-of-print hardbacks that I want to buy for my collection, but can't afford. Actually, libraries sometimes have a shelf or two of cheap donated books for sale - failing that, they tend to have interesting seasonal sales once or twice a year.
* Big New Bookstore. Go to your local Borders or Barnes & Noble. I usually avoid doing this, because most of the books I want can be got for lower prices elsewhere, and some of the books I want can't be gotten at all in such places. However, for recently published mass-market paperbacks, buying new is often the best move, since they're not that expensive.
* Independent Book Bookstore. Visit your local new, used, rare, and/or out-of-print bookstore. Prices will be higher than at a rummage sale, because there are business costs associated with the operation of a bookstore, but obviously quality will be higher, inventory will be larger, and the bookstore is open year round, rather than once a year when the weather is nice, as in the case of rummage sales. Not sure where to go? Try browsing Evelyn C. Leeper's list of bookstores.
* Discount Bookstore. Discount bookstores sell 'remaindered' books. Remaindered books are new-ish books which just didn't sell enough copies at the retail price. The inventory is usually boring: Many copies of a few books. Prices are usually some fixed fraction of retail. Lately I've gotten slightly more fond of this kind of store than I used to be. Some discount bookstores, like Half-Price Books on Route 206, buy and sell used books, too. I really appreciate stores that sell used kids' paperbacks. Sometimes that's the kind of book I'm looking for. Not many stores keep used kids' paperbacks on the shelves: it can't be a terribly lucrative strategy.
* Go on a Treasure Hunt. For an adventure, when the weather is nice, check out yard sales, garage sales, and fund-raisers. If you want 25- or 50-cent paperbacks, that's where to look. These people don't WANT the books. (Sometimes with good reason, admittedly.) The fun is in the search, the discovery, and the very low cost. And now, you can be aided by the web. Here's a site that lists rummage and library sales across the country: Book Sale Finder. Here's another, which I can't personally recommend since I haven't used it (I became aware of it after leaving the states): Book Sale Manager